Category Archives: Self-reliance

Patience Pays Off

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A few weeks ago I wrote this post about cleaning up the workshop area downstairs.  One of the photos showed the old kitchen cupboards which we had been using as storage in this area for the last 7 years.  We decided that it was time for them to go as the chipboard was all breaking up and we had eliminated enough stuff to longer require them as storage.

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GMan cut the shelving into smaller pieces and broke down the cupboard shells and drawers.  We only have a half size (120 litre) wheelie bin so we filled it with the cut pieces each week for 4 weeks.

Now it is completely gone.

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The alternative was to pack it into the ute, drive 20kms to the nearest rubbish dump and pay about $15 to dump it.  The end result is the same – it goes to landfill, which is not ideal but there is really no alternative for this sort of thing.  However, we managed it at zero cost to us because we chose to take our time and dispose of it bit by bit.

Food as Fuel

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Sometimes I think food is over-rated.  Thanks to shows like Masterchef and others in the same vein, we have been conned into thinking that every meal needs to be a creation and cooking is a competition.

Cooking for your family is actually providing fuel for their bodies to perform the necessary tasks – nothing more, nothing less.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing I love more than creating a special meal for family and friends.  However, we need to look past the hype of cooking shows and concentrate on what is important – nutritious food to re-fuel.

Tonight I want to show you what I am making for dinner.  It is not overly fancy but I know we will enjoy a wholesome meal made with basic ingredients.

Beef Casserole with Sweet Potato Mash, Broccoli and Balsamic-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

I made the casserole a couple of weeks ago in the slow-cooker and divided it into 2 containers.  One container is 2 serves.  This has been defrosting since I took it out of the freezer this morning.  The sweet potato is already cooked and mashed from Sunday evening when I made a double quantity.

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I will serve this with steamed broccoli and the cherry tomatoes.

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I made the casserole using gravy beef (3 pieces), 1 onion (diced), 400g frozen cherry tomatoes (you can use a can of crushed tomatoes) and 1/4 cup homemade Worcestershire sauce.  Place all ingredients in the slow cooker on High for about 6 hours or until the meat is tender and breaks apart easily with a fork.  Add 1 heaped tablespoon of cornflour or arrowroot blended in 1/4 cup of water to thicken the mixture.  This can been done in the last hour of cooking or transfer the casserole to a saucepan and cook for an additional 5 minutes.  If you are going to freeze the casserole you may prefer to thicken it when you are ready to use it.

The sweet potato is mashed with some butter and a sprinkle of nutmeg for extra flavour.

To roast the cherry tomatoes place about 2 teaspoons of oil and an equal amount of balsamic syrup in a small pan with the tomatoes and place in an oven at 180C for 10 minutes.  If you do not have the oven on, you can do it equally as well under the griller for about 5 – 8 minutes on ‘High’.

The sweet potato and cherry tomatoes are both from our garden.

Here is the meal served and ready to eat.

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What is on your dinner plate tonight?

Behind the Scenes

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Just because I have not posted very much recently does not mean there is nothing going on here at ‘The Castle’.

We have had 2 phone calls in the past 48 hours to confirm that some of our plans are coming to fruition.  The first was from a tree lopper to confirm that he will be here early next week to remove a couple of very large trees and mulch them as well as the smaller ones that GMan cleared recently.

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Once this is done we will be able to consider the next step in some of our long-term landscaping plans.

Yesterday we received a quote from the builder for the next major renovations.  This will include replacement of some of the verandah floorboards, new railings, cafe blinds and screening and gate to provide added security to the verandah area.  Some more concreting to finish the path near the steps and provide a base for an additional water tank will also be done.  We will discuss the finer details with him this weekend and hope that the work will be completed with the next couple of months.

It is great to feel that some of our planning to beginning to come to fruition.

Appointments

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Part of being organised is making and keeping track of appointments.  This week I have appointments for a dental check up, haircut and mammogram on 3 consecutive days.

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I am lucky because Breastscreen and my dentist both send reminders when an appointment is due.  I simply make the appointment and make a note in my electronic calendar at work.

My hair appointments are generally 7 weeks apart and I make the following appointment when I am at the salon.

The dentist and hairdresser both send an SMS reminder the day before the appointment.

My haircut on Thursday was one of 3 that I planned and booked back in February.  I did this as I was calculating the intervals so that I could make sure I had my hair cut just before we leave to go on holidays in July.  I will have it cut 2 days before we leave so that it will last for the whole holiday.

What regular appointments do you make and how do you manage them?  Diary?  Electronic notes?  Some other method?

Meaning of Materialistic

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I read an interesting question online today.

How do you become less materialistic?

The first thing to do is to define the word ‘materialistic’.  I resorted to the dictionary and this is what I came up with.

Materialistic – excessively concerned with physical comforts or the acquisition of wealth and material possessions, rather than with spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values.  

I think that sums it up quite nicely.

So, how is a materialistic attitude determined?  Nature, nurture, genetics, stage of life?

I am sure that at least some of our attitude towards possessions stems from how we were brought up and the attitude of our parents.

Additionally, most of us go through what I would regard as an acquisitive phase during early adulthood as we set up a household which is independent from our childhood home.  During this period there are often children added to the family and along with that comes additional possessions.

At the other end of the scale there are those of us who no longer have children at home and are perhaps already retired or soon to be so.  Many of us are looking to remove clutter from our lives.

However, I think a materialistic attitude is more than simply having lots of stuff.  To me it means that a person places more emphasis on material possessions than values.

I cannot get enough of this video which is brilliant.

A Tyre(ing) Week

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Tyres are one of those things that we would find it difficult to live without but we really do not give much attention to them until there is a problem.

For GMan, this week has been all about tyres.  Last week he discovered that the ute had a slow leak in one tyre which became not so slow and the cause was a nail.  After after visit to the local tyre shop, we discovered that it could not be repaired so a new one was ordered and he collected that this morning.  Of course, there is a spare tyre but a replacement was necessary.  The ute is back in business.

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The ute was not the only wheeled device with issues.  We have a metal handcart which came from my parent’s place but we have not used it recently as it needed a new tyre.  That was not high on the list of things to do but GMan did do it this week.  The only tyres available did not match the original so he bought 2 new ones and the handcart is now sporting a very flash pair of whitewall tyres.

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The final project is for later today as GMan needs to pump up the tyres on the mulcher.

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Wheels are great, but like everything else, they require a little maintenance from time to time.

 

Luxury of a Long Weekend

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Thank you for your kind words after my last post and patience while I collect my thoughts.

This morning I woke and lay in bed contemplating the unusual situation of 3 days at home (it is a long weekend here in Queensland) and no commitments.  That is right – nothing, nobody, nowhere.  We had no plans.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love catching up with family and friends, entertaining and going places but it is such a novelty not to have anything planned.

The weather is cool and humid with showers of rain threatening.

GMan and I began by taking the outdoor table downstairs to clean it in preparation for painting.  Next, we have cleaned all of the concreted area under the house – swept, vacuumed and cleaned with the high-pressure water spray.

After using the outdoor vacuum cleaner GMan discovered that the filter bag was falling to bits.

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I decided that I could make a new one which appears to have been a success.

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Here it is attached to the lid of the vacuum cleaner.

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There are lots of other things we can work on and there will be more about those in upcoming posts.

I hope you are having a safe and relaxing weekend wherever you are.

Destruction Day

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Since we are both working full-time it is a challenge to get a great deal done in the garden.  Basic maintenance such as lawn mowing and keeping the vegetable garden in some sort of order takes most of the available time on the weekend.

Autumn is finally creeping up on us and the lawn growth has slowed somewhat so GMan has a bit more time.  So, a long weekend which offered 3 available days was a great opportunity to make a start on a big project that we have been planning for a number of years.

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It was a beautiful autumn morning so I quickly took this photo before we started.

This is the result of GMan with a chainsaw (and me helping).

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It was late in the afternoon by the time I took this photo so I apologise for the lack of clarity.

Whilst the area in the first photo looks beautifully lush and green, it was an overgrown mess of multi-trunked trees which were all entwined as well as a couple of dozen self-sown avocado trees.  These had come from avocadoes that had fallen from the main tree further up the embankment.  The large eucalypt in the centre of the photo was completely hidden by all of the rubbishy vegetation around it but now we can see that is a beautiful tree.

The next step will be to clear and mulch all of the cleared vegetation and then work on replanting the area with more appropriate species.

Sometimes things have to get worse before they can improve and this is definitely one such instance.

The Importance of Ironing

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I know many of you will not read this post and others will shake their heads in disbelief at the title but please bear with me.

Ironing is an aspect of homemaking that seems to be almost universally hated but there is a valuable aspect to the task.  I have mentioned before about the importance of taking care of what you own to get the maximum use from it and thus reduce the overall carbon footprint of any item.  This applies to clothes and keeping your clothes in good repair makes good economic and environmental sense.

Taking the time to check each garment while you are ironing can identify problems before they become too extensive to repair.  My previous post about my black linen top highlights this point.  I noticed they fraying at the hem and have repaired this by using a wide satin stitch (zig zag) along the edge that had frayed.  I have checked the remainder of the hem edge and cannot see any signs of similar problems, however, I will keep a close eye on it in the future.

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The mend is not invisible but reasonably well-disguised so I am happy to continue to wear this top.

Today when I was ironing I discovered 2 other issues.  The first was one of GMan’s business shirts.  There was a small yellow stain on the back near the armhole and I have no idea of the origin.  It is about the size of a 20c piece and not terribly noticeable as it is a dark checked shirt.  However, I have soaked the shirt in the hope that the stain will come out.

The other discovery was another minor mending job.  I have a pair of white trousers with a centre back zip and a few stitches of the seam had broken just below the zip.  This is not a huge issue at the moment but could be if I wore them and split the seam further.  I repaired the seam and they are as good as new.  This is a classic example of the saying “A stitch in time saves nine”.  It could also save me from a potentially embarrassing and costly situation if I had to rush out and make an emergency purchase.

Obviously, I do not iron everything but hanging out washing or folding clothes I also take time to make sure they are in good order and ready to be worn.